Monster

"Level 24 Great Soul Master." The middle-aged man nodded at the red-haired girl before him. Though she could not compare to Ning Tian, who had come before her, Wu Feng's level 24 soul power still placed her among the best of the many new students.

"Teacher Yan." Fang Xu stepped forward with Mu Feng and Di Qiuli. After Teacher Yan recorded their soul power levels, he noticed the two behind Fang Xu.

He nodded. "Place your hands on it."

Naturally, he knew about this unspoken rule of cutting in line. Aside from the three gold soul coins Fang Xu earned for bringing in customers, Teacher Yan himself would take half of the ten gold soul coins, while the remaining two would be pooled as a final "dividend" for all the participating students.

Mu Feng and Di Qiuli's striking appearances naturally drew the attention of Ning Tian and the others, especially Di Qiuli beside Mu Feng, whose hair was the same radiant golden color as hers.

From their clothing, Ning Tian could tell that they did not come from any particularly famous family or sect. Just as she was about to leave with Wu Feng to collect their new student supplies, Teacher Yan suddenly cried out behind them.

"Level 34 Soul Elder!"

Yan Jue stared blankly at the crystal ball on the table, which was radiating a dazzling light. The young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only been a level 30 Soul Elder just moments ago, yet this girl's soul power exceeded hers by a full four levels.

Hearing the commotion, Ning Tian and Wu Feng abruptly stopped. Ning Tian looked at the crystal ball in astonishment. Its glow was visibly several degrees brighter than it had been during her own test.

Since childhood, she had cultivated diligently day and night within the sect. She had believed that after entering Shrek Academy, her cultivation level would certainly rank among the top tier of freshmen. Yet in this tiny registration room, the cultivation she had taken such pride in had been surpassed by an unknown girl—and by a full four levels.

Di Qiuli knew that Mu Feng had already reached Soul Elder a year ago. After a year had passed, she was somewhat curious about just how much his strength had improved.

Once Yan Jue finished recording her soul power level, she stepped aside and let Mu Feng, who stood behind her, come forward.

Mu Feng came before the crystal ball, closed his eyes, placed both hands on it, and infused it with soul power. In an instant, a radiance far surpassing Di Qiuli's nearly filled the entire room.

Yan Jue cried out, "Level 39!"

Ning Tian had not yet recovered from the shock of that level 34 soul power, and now another boy had appeared whose strength was on the verge of reaching Soul Ancestor.

If Yan Jue had not seen that Ning Tian and Wu Feng had not gone far, he truly would have wanted to pull Fang Xu aside and ask where exactly he had found these two little monsters who had cut the line.

Fang Xu was even more stunned. After all, even after advancing to the second year, he had only barely reached the level 24 soul power of that red-haired girl.

After one round of testing, he had unexpectedly become the person with the lowest soul power level in the entire room.

Yan Jue placed his hands on their arms and only accepted their recommendation letters after confirming that neither of them was over twelve years old.

Mu Feng and Di Qiuli accepted the new student badges Yan Jue handed them. After smiling at him, they left. As they passed Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who stood frozen nearby, Mu Feng thought of how, in Heavenly Inquiry Valley, Ning Tian—who currently looked like such a sweet young girl—would undergo a drastic change in gender. Tang San's twisted sense of humor sent a chill down his spine.

Ning Tian was also looking at Mu Feng, her expression somewhat complicated. The instant their gazes met, the nostrils of Wu Feng beside Ning Tian and Di Qiuli beside Mu Feng flared slightly. One looked at Mu Feng with an unfriendly expression, while the other directly gave his lower back a swift, hard pinch.

"Hiss!" Mu Feng, stung by the pain, hurriedly reached out to catch those wicked fingers. The moment he touched them, however, the soft, smooth skin slipped away from his palm.

Unable to catch the culprit red-handed, Mu Feng could only turn back and glare at Di Qiuli. Did this girl take the wrong medicine today or something?

Di Qiuli turned her head away and ignored Mu Feng's accusing glare. Just as Mu Feng was about to walk past Ning Tian, her rosy lips moved as she said, "Hello."

Mu Feng froze for a moment. He had not expected Ning Tian to take the initiative to speak to him just because he had glanced at her. Out of courtesy, he replied, "Hello."

"My name is Ning Tian, and this is Wu Feng. We're from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Mu Feng introduced himself. "I'm Mu Feng, and this is Di Qiuli."

Ning Tian continued, "I saw that you also came in through the special invitation passage. May I ask which sect you're from?"

Ning Tian had started the conversation to confirm whether they came from some semi-reclusive family. Their strength was simply too astonishing; no minor family or small sect could possibly have raised talents like them.

Mu Feng shook his head. "We're from two different cities in the Star Dou Empire. We merely happened to meet on the road and decided to travel together."

Ning Tian merely assumed Mu Feng was concealing something and frowned. "Then how did you enter through the special invitation passage?"

Mu Feng smiled. "The line outside was simply too long. Waiting around until nightfall wasn't an option, so we found an older student and pulled a few strings."

After saying that, Mu Feng worried that Ning Tian might think he was fooling her, so he pointed at Fang Xu, who stood beside Yan Jue.

"All right, it was nice meeting you, but we still need to collect our new student supplies. See you next time." Mu Feng waved and bid farewell to Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who remained where they were.

After they had gone some distance away, Di Qiuli turned back toward Ning Tian. Seeing that she still looked absent-minded, Di Qiuli glanced at Mu Feng again. For some reason, the corners of his lips had curved upward, adding a strange, ghostly charm to his already refined face.

Bi Ji's words suddenly surfaced in her mind: "That little fellow is quite popular." Di Qiuli could not understand it. This guy looked presentable enough, but he was terribly wicked in private. She had been by his side all this time and had never noticed anything about him that could attract people.

When Mu Feng arrived at the statue plaza, he looked at the ten statues there. From beginning to end, his gaze rested upon Tang San, who stood in the center with blue vines coiling around him.

To fulfill his long-cherished wish, he had to become stronger—stronger than everyone else, including Tang San before him. Only then would his fate no longer lie in Tang San's hands.

"Shrek Academy?" Mu Feng smiled faintly. This greatest academy on the continent concealed far too many opportunities waiting for him to explore. At the center of the storm of every major event to come on the Douluo Continent, it contained danger—but also countless opportunities.

A shadow passed through Mu Feng's eyes. Ye Xishui's curse still lingered in his sea of consciousness. Once he broke it, he would be like a bird soaring into the heavens or a fish entering the sea, free of all restraints.

"At that time..." Thinking of this, Mu Feng could not help chuckling. Several freshmen who had also come to register and collect their supplies passed by him and assumed that he had been frightened witless by the grandeur of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters. Otherwise, how could they explain him standing alone before the statues and grinning foolishly?

Di Qiuli had already tugged twice at Mu Feng's sleeve after noticing his strange behavior, but to no avail. She then chose to slip into the crowd. Seeing the looks those people gave Mu Feng, she felt that she had been clever for once.